Where Dwell The Brave At Heart
by MorningSkies
Summary: ONE SHOT. Scorpius Malfoy always felt that his place in Gryffindor was well deserved. He played on the house Quidditch team, caused regular arguments with his grandfather, and managed to work with Percy Weasley without hexing him; Scorpius was not a coward. That was until he was confronted with the most terrifying moment of his life- meeting his girlfriend's father, Ron Weasley...


Scorpius Malfoy liked to think that he could be quite brave when the occasion called for it.

During his time at Hogwarts, he'd played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team from his third to seventh year. This had required a considerable bit of nerve, since the crowd was always baying for blood, and there was the obligatory dodging of curses in the run up to the matches against Slytherin. It also took courage to be a part of Samuel Wood's Quidditch team- the captain had an unnatural fondness for five am practices, as well as an intolerance for laughing, joking or any other form of light hearted behaviour.

Then there was the time when Scorpius had found the bravery to have a blazing argument with his grandfather when he was seventeen. The whole 'family' had been at the Manor, and Lucius had been spouting his usual anti-Muggleborn bile. Scorpius had been sitting there, attempting to drown out Lucius' words, when something had suddenly snapped inside of him. Before anyone knew what was happening, Scorpius had jumped to his feet and explained in no uncertain terms that he thought his grandfather to be a bigoted twat.

Finally, in his job as Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Scorpius had to summon the bravery to not only make important speeches and meet various dignitaries, but to deal with his boss, Percy Weasley, on a daily basis. To say Percy was a difficult man to work with was an understatement, but Scorpius prided himself on managing to do so without firing curses at his boss.

Therefore, all things considered, Scorpius felt he had earned his place in Gryffindor. So why the hell was he so terrified about meeting one man?!

Scorpius had been dating the beautiful, clever, perfect Rose Weasley for a few months now, although they'd been friends throughout their time at Hogwarts. It had been at Albus Potter's twenty fourth birthday party that Scorpius finally took a chance and kissed her, and it had turned out to be the best move of his life.

Only now it didn't seem that way, because today he had to meet Ron Weasley, Deputy Head of the Auror Office, saviour of the wizarding world, and Rose's father.

'Are you okay?' asked Rose, leaning down to kiss Scorpius, as he sat at the kitchen table of his flat, 'You look weird.'

'Always the flatterer,' muttered Scorpius, pressing his lips against hers in a way that never failed to make his heart jolt.

'I don't know why you're so worried about meeting my dad,' continued Rose, sitting down next to him, 'he's really nice, I know you'll like him.'

Scorpius looked into her deep blue eyes that he often found himself lost in, and saw nothing but sincerity there; Rose obviously didn't share his fears that he might be leaving her parents' house in a coffin later that morning.

The thing was, while Scorpius was sure that Ron Weasley was as funny, generous and caring as everyone made him out to be, he was equally certain that Rose's father would not like him. Scorpius was a Malfoy after all, and that surname was the equivalent of an expletive in Ron's mind.

Ron had thrown a fit when Rose dated Lee Jordan's son in her sixth year, for God's sake! And he got on very well with Lee. The thought of his reaction to his daughter going out with the son of his sworn enemy made Scorpius feel slightly nauseous.

'I'm going to go and get ready,' announced Rose, glancing down at her watch, 'Don't worry, you'll be fine.'

She kissed Scorpius again, before disappearing into their bedroom, leaving him to wallow in panic.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Scorpius had reluctantly apparated to Ron and Hermione's house with Rose. He was still contemplating making a run for it, but thought that might make the situation worse- Ron 'Deputy Head Auror' Weasley would probably give chase and no doubt find some excuse to curse him or send him to Azkaban.

'I'm not sure I want to do this, Rose,' he muttered, as she knocked loudly on the front door.

Rose ignored him, and a moment later the door was pulled open by Hermione.

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief. He had met Hermione before and got on very well with her. Maybe Ron was ill, or had been called into work, he thought as he looked around hopefully and saw no sign of him.

'Hello, Rose,' said Hermione, hugging her daughter, before turning to Scorpius, 'hi, Scorpius.'

'Hello, Hermione,' smiled Scorpius, 'Isn't Ron in?'

He tried to keep the optimistic note out of his voice, but Rose noticed it and playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

'He's here somewhere,' said Hermione, looking behind her and frowning, 'I'm not sure where he is though.'

'I'm in the study!' came a loud voice from inside the house.

Rose gave her mother a despairing look, 'What the hell is he doing? He's meant to be meeting Scorpius!'

'I am planning on doing so!' boomed Ron's voice, 'Send him in!'

'Ron, are you under the impression that we've gone back to the 1800s?' asked Hermione, while she rolled her eyes at Rose.

'It's fine,' said Scorpius, thinking that causing an argument between Rose's parents would not help his cause with Ron whatsoever, 'I'll go and see him.'

'Be nice, Dad!' yelled Rose.

'I'm always nice!'

Scorpius seriously doubted this would extend to him, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he kissed Rose and headed down the hallway, following the sound of Ron's voice.

'Come on, Gryffindor courage,' he muttered to himself.

Thinking it would be stupid to knock when Ron already knew he was there, Scorpius pushed open the study door. It was a small but rather ornate room that Scorpius was sure Ron had chosen in order to appear impressive and imposing. This completely contradicted everything he'd ever heard about Ron, and he was sure it was merely an attempt to intimidate him.

The man himself was sitting behind the desk in a handsome leather chair. His wand was placed on the desk before him, and conveniently pointing at Scorpius.

'Don't you knock before entering a private room?' asked Ron, his eyebrows raised.

'Erm,' replied Scorpius articulately.

Ron made an obvious tutting noise, and gestured towards a chair opposite him. Scorpius sat on it and immediately wished he hadn't since it was hard backed and uncomfortable- no doubt as intended by Ron.

'So,' began Ron, sounding very much as though he were about to interrogate Scorpius or pronounce him under arrest, 'You are Rosie's boyfriend?'

Scorpius tried to ignore the venom present in the last word, 'Yes, I am.'

'Yes, I am, what?' boomed Ron so loudly that Scorpius recoiled slightly.

'Erm, yes I am, Mr Weasley?'

'I'd prefer you to address me as sir, if I'm honest,' reasoned Ron, 'But Mr Weasley is also acceptable.'

Scorpius, meanwhile, just gazed at Ron incredulously. The man was supposed to be one of the saviours of the wizarding world, yet he seemed as obnoxious as Lucius. A horrible thought suddenly struck Scorpius; what if Rose turned out like her dad as she got older? Scorpius had been certain that he and Rose would end up married, but now he wasn't so sure he could cope with it.

'What is it you do for a living?' continued Ron, who was now pacing up and down in a manner that made Scorpius think of an Auror questioning a suspect.

'I'm Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,' replied Scorpius, wondering why on earth he was being asked this, since Ron also worked at the Ministry and knew perfectly well what Scorpius did.

'Ah you work for my brother Percy?'

'Yes,' said Scorpius, sensing an opportunity to lighten the mood, 'I think I should get some credit for putting up with him as a boss.'

To his horror however, Ron did not laugh, but looked furious instead.

'Insulting my brother are you? Think it's funny to make jokes at the Weasleys' expense, do you?'

'No, no,' insisted Scorpius, 'I didn't mean it like that.'

'I'll have you know,' thundered Ron, 'that my brother is a great man. He may have been a bit of an idiot during the war but I can assure you that he was a damn sight braver than any of your lot!'

Scorpius was stunned into silence for a few moments. He had always heard that Ron was a great guy who looked out for his friends and family and who would help anyone who needed it. But Scorpius was witnessing a crazed man with a vendetta against a childhood enemy; maybe Ron had finally cracked after years of being an Auror.

'Listen,' insisted Scorpius, in an attempt to steer the conversation back into safer waters, 'I love your daughter. She means the world to me and I would do anything to make her happy. I would never, ever hurt her in any way.'

'You say that now!' exclaimed Ron, his face red and his expression slightly deranged, 'But will that be the case in a few years' time?'

'Yes,' said Scorpius firmly, 'I love Rose and that won't ever change.'

Ron surveyed him with great suspicion for a moment, before leaning over the desk and staring straight at Scorpius.

'You better mean that,' he said in a low, dangerous voice that sounded a hell of a lot more scary than his previous shouting, 'because I have a promise for you, Scorpius. If you ever hurt my Rosie, then I will not rest until I have tracked you down. I will not eat, sleep or drink until I have found you and made you pay. And when I do, you'll wish you've never been born.'

Scorpius felt his mouth drop open in mingled shock and horror. The man was a nut case! What was Harry Potter thinking allowing him to be an active Auror? Ron was completely barmy- and utterly terrifying.

'So,' continued Ron, 'Are you going to continue dating my daughter?'

'Yes,' said Scorpius automatically. He may be scared of her father, but that was not going to stop him from being with Rose- nothing was. Even if Scorpius had to put up with tense family Christmases and Ron making snide comments at every occasion, he would willingly do so if he could be with Rose.

He'd known ever since the day they met on the Hogwarts Express that he was meant to be with Rose. It was only down to his stupidity that they hadn't gotten together sooner. And Scorpius was a Gryffindor for God's sake! He wasn't going to be bullied into letting Rose go.

'Yes,' confirmed Scorpius, 'Yes I am staying with Rose. We love one another and are going to spend the rest of our lives together.'

This declaration hung in the air for a while as Ron glared at Scorpius and breathed heavily. After a few moments however, and to Scorpius' great surprise, Ron broke out into a wide grin.

'Brilliant, that is exactly what I wanted to hear, Scorpius.'

'Erm,' repeated Scorpius, now certain that Ron really had lost his sanity somewhere down the line.

'You're a good man, Scorpius. All of this was simply to see if you were committed to Rosie. And I must say you don't scare easily.'

'What?!' yelped Scorpius, feeling more than a little outraged. He'd just spent the past few minutes thinking he was about to be hit with the Cruciatus Curse and now Ron was telling him that it had all been a joke!

'That was hilarious,' laughed Ron, clutching onto his chair for support, 'Your face was priceless. I'm going to tell Harry to do that with Lily's next boyfriend.'

'Wait, so you don't actually have a problem with me?'

'Of course I don't have a problem with you. In fact, I respect you for being so different from the rest of your family.'

'Oh,' said Scorpius, letting the fact that Ron liked him sink in for a moment, 'Thanks, I suppose.'

Ron opened his mouth to say something else, when the study door burst open. Rose and Hermione both stormed in wearing scarily identical frowns.

'What are you doing Dad?' demanded Rose, moving to stand by Scorpius and glare at Ron.

'Nothing!' protested Ron, holding his hands up in defence, 'We've just been having a nice chat, haven't we, Scorpius?'

'Oh yes,' said Scorpius quickly, feeling that it would be suicidal to say anything different, 'We've gotten along really well.'

'Really?' asked Rose, arching her eyebrows in disbelief.

'Yes!' exclaimed Ron. He moved round the desk and patted Scorpius on the shoulder. 'In fact, I think Scorpius is practically part of the family now.'

'Thanks,' muttered Scorpius, feeling genuinely touched at this declaration. He had never felt part of any family before, and certainly not his own pure blood manic one. To know that he had been accepted by Rose's parents almost made his eyes water.

_Almost. _He was a brave, manly Gryffindor after all.

'That's great to hear!' said Rose, flinging one arm around her dad and one around Scorpius so that they two men practically bumped heads, 'I'm so pleased you two get along.'

'So am I, Rosie,' smiled Ron.

That was much easier than he'd expected it to be, thought Scorpius while Rose had him in a virtual headlock. There had only been minimal threats and they'd turned out to be a joke.

'Scorpius.'

Scorpius turned to look at Ron, who was whispering something in his ear so that Rose didn't overhear.

'I meant what I said, though. If you hurt my daughter, I will kill you.'

* * *

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